Raleigh agency tracks DNC terrorist threats

Before the Democratic National Convention gets underway in Charlotte, there's an agency in the Triangle that monitors potential terror threats around the clock.

Inside the Federal Courthouse Building on New Bern Avenue in downtown Raleigh is the state's counterterrorism headquarters. The information and sharing analysis center is called ISAAC, and SBI agent B.W. Collier runs the center.

"When something comes into the ISAAC, some kind of suspicious report, these guys actually run it down and try to find out what it's actually about," Collier said.

ISAAC is one of the dozens of fusion centers established after 9/11, spearheaded by the federal government. Inside, agents from North Carolina, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security, among others, monitor terror threats to the state in real-time.

Collier said since the center opened in 2006, it has handled more than 700 tips of possible terrorism.

The center played a part in prosecuting Daniel Patrick Boyd, man accused of plotting attacks with seven others as part of a Triangle terrorist cell. Boyd was sentenced last week to 18 years in prison after he struck a deal with prosecutors

The next big challenge for the center is working to keep the DNC safe.

"It certainly is a potential target," Collier said.

Collier told the I-Team the center will have a significant physical presence at the convention, gathering intelligence and information on security concerns.

"A lot of effort is going into this. We have a lot of people involved in trying to keep not only the dignitaries safe in coming to North Carolina, but visitors coming in as well," Collier said.

Authorities are not only worried about Al-Qaeda, but the convention will bring thousands of protesters, some potentially violent, from more than 65 groups

"We have domestic terrorism to be concerned with as well. There's a lot of different groups interested in doing harm to different entities in state. They want to bring about their own means of social or political belief, and they do it through terrorism," Collier said.